Star Trek Endeavor: The Wrath of Caesar
by mmulhollon
Summary: Julian Caesar is on the verge of whipping out an entire race and freeing a doctor that could potentially create more of him and it is up to Ender Wiggin and the crew of the Endeavor to stop him.


Star Trek Endeavor:

The Wrath of Caesar

By: Michael Mulhollon

Ender and the rest of the bridge crew watched as the Vengeance retreated and Petra looked somberly and said, "Sir you did it." Ender turned in Petra's direction and replied, "Not me commander, you." Petra looked down as if in a trance as Ender watched her nervously and was about to speak when Vars exclaimed, "Sir, I'm receiving a transmission from the other side of the planet!" Ender and the rest of the bridge crew either looked shocked or puzzled as Ender made a puzzling look at her and said, "Put it on main viewer." The face of an older, hispanic woman in an International Fleet uniform filled the screen and she spoke, "This is Lt. Colonel Ramirez, to whom I am speaking?" Ender replied firmly, "This is Captain Andrew Wiggin of the Federation starship Endeavor." Ramirez first looked confused and then surprised before she said, "Andrew Wiggin? Are you the one that defeated the Formics?" Petra looked at Ender with a worried expression but Ender kept his firm gaze and said, "Yes, I am the one that defeated the Formics." Ramirez looked even more shocked before she was able to get a hold of herself and spoke nervously, "M..Mr. Wiggin, we will send some ships out to help you with repairs!" Ender nodded and said, "That's unnecessary ma..." The screen suddenly changed back to its previous view and Ender looked confused.

Vars replied to Ender's confusion, "She cut off transmission sir." Joachim looked at Ender (puzzled) and asked, "Sir, do you know these people?" Ender replied grimly, "Yes. This is my home I told you about." Ender turned and walked around the screens before sitting in his command chair and pressed a button on his arm rest that retracted the transparent screens before him. Ender pressed another button and he said, "Mr. Delphiki, when will the engines be repaired?" Nikolai sounded almost out of breath when he spoke, "Sir, it will take about an hour to the impulse engines back online and about another hour for Trans-warp!" Ender grimly replied, "Well you are about to get more help very soon, so do your best." Nikolai asked (puzzled), "Sir? Extra help?" Joachim said, "Sir, those ships that Lt. Colonel Ramirez mentioned have arrived." On the main viewer they saw various shuttlecraft size ships flying towards them or at the Iron Men suits that drifted lifelessly about the Endeavor and retrieved them. Ender turned to Joachim and said, "Mr. Weiss, notify the shuttle bay that the incoming ships have permission to land and have security there to escort them to sickbay to help with the wounded or to non vital areas of the ship to help with repairs." Joachim nodded and replied, "Yes sir." Ender sat back in his chair and called out, "Casualty report?" Petra stated somberly, "15 dead, two missing and 44 injured." Ender said, "Thank You commander, do you have a location on where that transmission came from?" Silence and Ender looked over to see Petra just staring down at her console and he spoke aloud "Commander!" She nodded and looked up and exclaimed, "Yes sir! I know where its coming from!" Silence, and Ender looked at her with a puzzled expression and asked, "And?" Petra coldly replied, "Sir, it's the Battle School, or was."

Ender stood up and hurriedly walked to Petra's station and looked over her shoulder and saw, on one of the monitors, the Battle School orbiting on the other side of what was Hegemon. He then noticed some lettering on the side of one of its structures and he pointed at it and said, "Zoom in on that." Petra pressed a button and the monitor zoomed in to make the wording more distinguishable as it read "Ministry of Colonization" Ender grimly spoke, "Not a Battle School anymore." Petra replied, "It appears so." He walked away and assumed his command chair but Petra spoke up, "Captain?" Ender looked back at her and asked, "Yes commander?" Petra asked, "What's our policy when we docked with the Ministry of Colonization?" Ender stated, "Only essential personnel is allowed and must travel in teams of three and those that are coming from the station must be escorted by a security guard at all times and are not allowed in vital areas of the ship, including main engineering." He looked over at the rest of the bridge crew and called out, "Remember!" They all looked at him and Ender continued, "We must follow the Prime Directive!" Petra left her station and stood close to Ender and spoke lowly, "Are we violating the Prime Directive already?" Ender replied the same, "We came to their aid when Julian and Khan were already interfering and we've done all that we could to not make it worse." Petra replied, "Yes sir." But before she turned away Ender said, "Commander, I want you to access their database and see if you can find anything about Dr. Volescu." Petra looked at him concerned and said, "Yes sir, but why?" Ender replied, "I don't know, but I believe you will find out." And Petra walked away to her station as Ender remained in his chair and pondered his thoughts as he looked grim.

The Endeavor continued to hold its position as the Interstellar Fleet's shuttles flew into the Endeavor's shuttle bay as they returned the Iron Men suits that were adrift and Ender stated, "Captain's log star date 2350.6, Chief Engineer Delphiki has informed me that impulse power has been restored and soon the main engines will be back online. In the meantime, Commander Arkanian has found the information I requested and the results were appalling. Apparently Dr. Volescu tried to create a race of superior beings like Khan by cloning and tampering their embryos to make them smarter and stronger. When Dr. Volescu failed his first attempt and was being arrested he killed 23 out of the 24 infants born with this "Anton's Key" and the one that survived (unknowingly to Dr. Volescu) was my old friend Bean. During my brother's rise to power Volescu escaped from prison and served under Peter when he heard what Volescu has done. My brother then instructed Volescu to continue his work and later on there was an uprising and all the embryo's were destroyed. Volescu then was sent to the planet Helvetica, where he will be imprisoned for the rest of his life and finding a cure for Anton's Key. I also found out that Bean had eight brothers and sisters when Volescu resumed his research and when the uprising was over with, three of his brothers and sister that had this Anton's Key were executed while the others that were born normally were sent separately to other colonies and ordered to avoid contact with each other under the penalty of death. Also after Hegemon is destroyed Nikolai has been keeping himself too busy that I asked the doctor to have one of his nurses to keep an eye on him and even though Petra is responding a little slow to my commands and sometimes blanks out she is as well been keeping very busy. I myself am trying to keep myself busy and even though I know my parents are long gone before we arrived, I just hope and pray that my sister was not on the planet when Julian fired the weapon." Petra spoke, "No wonder he's pissed." Ender and Petra are both in Ender's quarters as they sat and read the files from the monitor in his room and Ender said, "This just shows what happens when you play God." Petra looked at him with a confused look and said, "But it doesn't make sense why they killed his brothers and sister that had Anton's Key but not Julian!" Ender replied, "Probably for the fact that he has increased intelligence and strength but his body grows that of a normal person." Petra sighed, "I bet you Julian is looking for him, so he can breed a race of supermen that do not have the defects while he goes on trying to wipe out the Hegemon race." Ender replied, "No doubt." Petra then said with concern, "How come Nikolai didn't tell us any of this?" Ender replied cooly, "Nikolai maybe a clone embryo of Bean but he does not possess Anton's Key and his scores at Battle School were average and ever since he was released he did not pursue a military or political career up to the point where he was exiled." Vars voice came over the intercom, "Sir, we are cleared to dock at the Ministry of Colonization." Ender pressed a button next to his monitor and said, "We'll be right up. Notify Weiss to prepare for docking procedures." Vars replied, "Yes sir." And Ender turned off the monitor and he and Petra left Ender's quarters and made their way to the nearest turbo lift.

The Endeavor moved away, at full impulse, from the moon's orbit and over the charred and volcanic planet of Hegemon and pulled up to the station on the Endeavor's port side and locked its dock to the main body's port side hatch. Joachim stated, "All moorings engaged, engines powering down and all systems are standing by sir." Ender said, "Vars tell engineering that the Trans-warp drive and weapons systems are given top priority." Vars replied, "Aye sir." Ender stood up from his command chair and said, "Mr. Weiss, you are in command. Commander Arkanian and I are going to the station and meet our new friends." Joachim replied (with a hint of concern), "Yes sir." Ender and Petra went to the turbo lift and the doors closed once they entered.

The turbo lift doors opened and Ender and Petra walked briskly down the hallway towards the port side hatch where they noticed many security guards and engineers are gathered or walking about in groups as they moved down port gangway. Once they entered the station they looked down the passageway's and saw yellow lights along the overhead leading to the entrance. Petra whispered to Ender, "Bring back memories?" Ender smirked and replied, "Almost like I just arrived here as a Launchy yesterday." An older man in a blue uniform appeared before them and said, "I am Lt. Cole, if you will follow me the representatives of the Starways of Congress are waiting for you." They followed the Lt. down the passageways and up the ladders while Ender and Petra looked around to see some of the familiar and changed settings of what was once the Battle School.

Julian called out, "Status report Reinhardt!" Reinhardt stood at attention to the right of Julian and said, "Caesar, the reactors will be cooled and ready in 15 minutes." Julian replied, "Excellent. Dior, any news from Khan?" Dior turned from her station, behind Julian and replied, "Yes Caesar. He failed to destroy the Endeavor and the Vengeance lost one of their main torpedo holds and photon control, but the Endeavor is severely damaged." Julian slammed his right fist on the arm rest causing it to bend as he yelled, "Damn! Set course for the far side of the moon of Moskva!" Helm replied, "Yes Caesar." Julian breathed angrily and spoke to himself, "Well Ender, it looks like we will meet again on the battlefield. The next time though, I will make sure that it will be your last."

Ender and Petra entered a large room with a meeting table and a few older men and women sat behind it till they entered and Ramirez stood at attention and saluted Ender but he waved his hand and looked a little embarrassed and said, "No, please don't salute me ma'm. I should be saluting you." They all sat down and looked at each other confused when Ramirez spoke, "Mr. Wiggin we have you, the one who defeated the Buggers and saved..." Ender cut her off, "That was then not now and all I have is a wrecked ship that needs repairs." Ramirez said, "We will repair your ship immediately captain." She looked to her left, pointed and said, "Next to me is the Minister of Colonization, Jena Dahl, next to her is the representative of the Starways of Congress, Gaffer Arame. We have been trying to notify the other colonies about this Julian Caesar but we are unable to reach them through ansible because our communications are somehow being blocked and we can't send ships to strengthen their defenses cause Julian and Khan somehow get there before the warships ever arrive." Ender replied to their confused looks, "Yes, they possess a unique type of engine that has their ships able to travel faster than yours but the main concern is communications. I'll send my communications officer and some of my engineers to see if we can break what's causing the signal jam." They looked a little relieved and Jena said, "That will be most grateful Mr. Wiggin, but let me advise you that you should have a security detail around you at all times when you are here at the station because some people do not like you for what you did to the Formics. They even label you as a Xenocide for whipping out the entire Formic race." Petra glanced over at Ender but sees he is not concerned by what he is told and says, "Thank You for the advice minister. Julian mentioned he has destroyed nine other worlds that were colonized. May I ask which colonies is he talking about and how many people were able to evacuate Hegemon before it was destroyed?" Ramirez and the others squirmed unsettlingly in their sets as Jena replies sadly, "Julian broadcasts the destruction of the colonies through ansible to us and the people of Hegemon. The colonies he destroyed were on Baia, Calicut, Helvetica, Mindanao, Fuji, Moctezuma, Otaheti, Outback, and Rov. If Julian keeps on going from here he will reach the other worlds that form the core of the Starways of Congress and are heavily populated. Also out of the 4 billion people that were on Hegemon, only 20,000 were able to survive before Julian fired the Little Doctor."

Ender and Petra looked on somberly and Ender replied, "Thank You, we will get underway as soon as possible so we can stop Julian from reaching the core of the Starways of Congress. Before we leave I need to know where is Dr. Volescu, because Julian is also searching for him as well." The minister and representative looked at each other nervously while Ramirez looked at Ender with an expressionless face and replied, "He's at a safe place where Julian won't reach him." Ender said, "Thank You for your assurance but tell us where he is so we can get him and lead Julian away form the Hundred Worlds." Ramirez raised her voice, "I'm sorry but I cannot release him to you!" Petra glared at her as Ender kept his composure and replied, "May I ask why?" Ramirez said, "Volescu is in the custody of the Interstellar Fleet and he is in a place where there is no way for him to escape. If we move him there is no guarantee that he won't try to escape or someone will try to break him out even if he is under your custody." Ender said, "I will guarantee you he won't escape from our brig and I will have a squad of my best security around him at all times so that Julian or any of his compatriots won't try to break him out." There is only silence in the room as Ramirez stared at Ender as if she is pondering her thoughts while the minister and representative looked at Ender and Petra with a stern gaze.

Ender looked agitated and spoke aloud (as if giving an order), "Colonel you can't just keep him wherever he is forever! Sooner or later Julian or Khan are going to find him and you will wish you would have given him to us when you had the chance! Where is the leader of Hegemon?" Ramirez replied somberly, "If you want to find our leader, look down at the planet below us." Ender apologetic, "I'm sorry Colonel, I thought your leader would have left the planet before the attack." Ramirez looked at him angrily and spoke, "You though wrong captain. Since Julian fired the M.D.D. I am in charge of the 40,000 survivors of Hegemon here and at the Interplanetary Launch." Ender sympathized, "I understand ma'm, so there is no other way I can persuade you to turn Volescu over to us?" Ramirez replied firmly, "From what you have offered so far, no." A soldier behind Ender and Petra spoke aloud, "Ma'm we are receiving a transmission from Julian Caesar!" The screen behind Ramirez and the tow officials turned into static as they turned and then the screen cleared to show a picture of a planet as Julian spoke, "Moskva, a planet that is colonized by over 200,000 Russians and slavic colonists." A bolt of blue light appeared and struck the surface of the planet to everyone's shock as they watched the planet's surface being burnt away like Hegemon.

Petra clung to Ender's right arm as he looked over and saw Petra trying very hard to control her feelings as she looked like she was about to cry and he touched her hand reassuringly with a look of sympathy. Then screen then changed to show Julian's face as he looked at them grimly and said, "I know you are still alive Minister and Lt. Colonel Ramirez. If you want us to stop this cleansing send us our founder to the following coordinates." Ramirez's desk beeped and she turned and saw her mailbox blinked and when she opened it she saw the sender ID was Julian Caesar and she looked shocked as she looked up and exclaimed, "How did he hack my mail?" She showed her desk to the soldiers at the door behind Ender and Petra and they shook their heads as they looked confused and Julian continued, "You have 24 hours or else I'll cleans another world from your filth. I also have a message for Ender Wiggin." Ender and Petra looked tensed as Julian continued, "Stay out of my way or else I will cleans a world because of your interference." Then the screen changed back to its normal setting and Ramirez and the others turned back around and Ramirez said grimly, "Mr. Wiggin, Ms. Arkanian would you please leave us." Ender looked confused and angry and said, "You're not seriously..." Ramirez called out angrily, "Captain Wiggin we thank you for the hospitality the Federation has rendered to us and we will consider an alliance and contact the Federation if we are willing to join their peaceful organization! That will be all!" Ender stood up angrily as did Petra but to her surprise Ender replied firmly, "Yes Colonel." He then turned and exited the room as Petra hesitantly followed as she is still surprised by Ender's reaction.

Petra walked fast to catch up to Ender and when she finally did she said, "Are you going to allow them to give in to Julian's demands?" Ender replied dryly, "The Lt. Colonel is already on edge and if I pressed any further there is no doubt she will try to keep our ship from leaving by any means." Petra said, "Are you sure she will go that far?" Ender replied grimly, "I don't know and that is exactly why I am leaving it to you to find Volescu." She stopped as did Ender as she looked baffled and said, "Ender you know I'm not that much of a computer genius." Ender patted her on the shoulder as he smirked and said, "I know you will find a way." Petra then looked serious and said, "Ender, I have to find out what happened to my family. I need to know they are safe." Ender looked depressed as he sighed, "Very well." Petra gave Ender a hug and kissed him on the cheek before they continued their way back to the Endeavor.

Ender stated, "Captain's log supplemental. For the past four hours the ship has been undergoing repairs and from what Nikolai told me we are ahead of schedule and should be ready to get underway within two hours. Commander Arkanian was able to find out the status of her parents and brother and it is what I feared to be. Her parents and her brother were on the planet below when Julian fired the M.D.D. and since then I stayed on the bridge and left Arkanian alone in my quarters as she grieves for her loss. Before she left she told me that my sister, Valentine, is on one of the core colonies of the Starways of Congress and I am very relieved while Chief Engineer Delphi's parents have passed away before we arrived and apparently does not wish to know if he has any siblings. In a lighter note, Mr. Delphiki was able to hack into the communications systems of the Starways of Congress and is able to locate Dr. Volescu on the planet Colony IX where apparently he, and a handful of security to watch him, are the only inhabitants on the planet as the original settlers could not adapt to the harsh desert environment. I have notified Mr. Delphiki and Mr. Weiss to prepare to get the ship underway once repairs are completed." Ender is sitting in his command chair signing off on a report before handing it back to the yeoman next to him as the turbo lift doors opened and Petra stepped onto the bridge in a clean uniform as she resumed her station. Ender turned in her direction and looked at her with a concern look and asked, "Commander?" Petra looked back at him with a confident expression and replied, "Yes sir, I'm ready." Ender nodded and turned forward and said aloud, "Mr. Weiss, are we ready?" Joachim replied, "All stations report ready sir, but the Ministry of Colonization refuse to remove the gangway off our port side." Ender said, "Ms. Vars, get me..." Vars interrupted, "Sir we are being hailed by Lt. Colonel Ramirez." Ender replied, "On screen."

Ramirez appeared on the main viewer and Ender greeted her, "Colonel I'm sorry we have to leave so sudden but..." Ramirez interrupted in a demanding tone, "We detected one of your officers hacking into our system and I order you to power down your ship and prepare to be boarded!" Everyone on the bridge looked confused except Ender as he replied curiously, "Or what Colonel?" Petra, Joachim, Vars and the rest of the bridge crew looked at Ender with surprised looks as Ramirez glared at Ender and said, "Excuse me captain?" Ender glared back at Ramirez and said, "You heard me Lt. Colonel. We intend to leave and if you refuse then we'll just simply pull out and tear off your port docking bay leaving you with only one way in or out of your station." Ramirez demanded angrily, "I will order the remaining Interstellar Fleet warships to disable your ship and board you by force!" Ender replied calmly but firmly, "You can try Colonel, but if you do I will not hesitate to destroy or disable the rest of your fleet and leave you defenseless if Julian decides to come back and finish you off." Ramirez glared at Ender showing no expression as Ender continued, "We can play games like this Ms. Ramirez but I must warn you that there are more worlds out there that are in danger of Julian other than yourselves and I have made a sworn oath to protect any known civilization from complete destruction or threat by any known force and use whatever means to protect them, even if it means destroying you or the destruction of my own ship in the process." Ramirez spoke in a demanding, angry tone, "Captain Andrew Wiggin you will..." Ender interrupted her, "Mr. Weiss, prepare to pull out on my mark!" As nervous tensions rose on the bridge, Joachim replied firmly, "Yes sir." There was dead silence as Ramirez and Ender stared at each other (expressionless) when all of a sudden Joachim called out, "Sir, the port docking bay has pulled away!" Ramirez said, "Captain Wiggin, you are cleared to leave." Ender nod and replied, "Thank You Colonel." Ramirez spoke in a firm and angry tone, "Mr. Wiggin, this will be the last time we will ever see each other. From now on you are never to return to Hegemon space." Ender made a small smirk and replied, "Thank You Colonel, there is nothing here to come back to anyway." Ramirez struggled to keep from showing her surprise look when all of a sudden Ender pressed a button on his right arm rest and the Lt. Colonel's image changed from that to the burning planet of Hegemon below them and the space before them.

The Endeavor pulled away from the Ministry of Colonization and the smoldering planet of Hegemon into deep space as Ender stated, "Helm, set course to Colony IX Trans-warp factor 6! All stations prepare for Trans-warp drive!" Everyone on the bridge closed their armrests and Joachim said, "Trans-warp at your command sir." Ender replied, "Execute." And the Endeavor flew away leaving a blue and red streak of light in its path. Once the ship was in Trans-warp Ender asked, "Time to destination?" Joachim replied, "One hour sir." Vars looked surprised as she turned to Ender and exclaimed, "Sir, you are big hailed by Julian Delphiki!" Ender calmly replied, "On audio." Everyone on the bridge tensed as Julian spoke, "Well, well, Mr. Ender Wiggin. Looks like you have been banished from what's left of your home world." Julian made a high pitch laugh that made some of the bridge crew cringe in fright and Julian continued, "Don't worry Ender, we will meet again when we reach you at Colony IX, see you then." There was silence and Vars said, "He's gone captain." Ender looked confused and said aloud, "How does he know where we are heading?" Petra replied, "Sir, there's a good chance that he may have left a virus in Ministry of Colonization's ansible that tracks down on what I and Mr. Delphiki were researching sir." Ender cursed under his breath before he spoke aloud, "Helm, increase to Trans-warp factor 7!" Joachim replied, "Yes sir! We will arrive there in 25 minutes!" Ender pressed a button on his arm rest and said, "All stations red alert! Man your battle stations!" The klaxon alarm sounded and the bridge lighting changed from normal to red.

The Endeavor came out of warp and entered the Colony IX system at full impulse before approaching the planet's orbit. Ender asked, "Is Julian here?" Petra replied, "Negative sir." Ender exclaimed, "Helm, come the Endeavor on the other side of the planet and scan for Volescu's location immediately!" Joachim replied, "Yes sir!" The Endeavor then flew to the dark side of the planet when Joachim called out, "Got him sir! He's located in an underground facility and I detect two other life readings as well!" Ender asked, "Can you beam him up?" Joachim replied, "Negative sir, but I can beam people down." Ender stood up and said, "I'll be in transporter room 1, have a two man security detail meet me there!" He walked fast to the turbo lift just as Petra stood up to protest when Ender cut her off, "Ms. Arkanian you have the con!" And he entered the turbo lift and the doors closed before Petra had a chance to reply.

In an underground science lab, Dr. Volescu is looking through a bioscopy and pulled out a droplet and drop two drops on a petri dish as two armed Interstellar Fleet soldiers stood behind him at the door entrance. Volescu said, "Hmm, interesting." When suddenly the doors between the soldiers blew inward and just as Volescu and the soldiers turned two bolts of blue light fired struck each of the soldiers and they both fell unconscious. Volescu cried out in shock as the bolts of light struck the soldiers and two blue uniformed men (One Andorian and one Orion) appeared carrying phasers as Ender appeared between them with his phaser raised and entered the lab. Ender pointed his phaser at Volescu and stated in a demanding tone, "Dr. Volescu you are coming with us." Volescu stared at Ender and the security men (as they looked at the computer walls panels next to them) in shock and after a few moments of silence Ender replied, "I take that as you will comply." The Andorian security man called out, "Captain, I found what is causing the transporter interference!" Without looking back Ender said, "Disable it." The security officer pointed his phaser at it and fired, causing the computer panel to exploded and sparks issued forth as it and the surrounding computer panels powered down.

Ender's communicator beeped and Ender pulled out his communicator and said, "Wiggin here." Petra called out, "Sir, Julian has entered the system! Prepare for immediate transport!" Ender replied, "On my mark!" Ender grabbed hold of Volescu as the two security officers stood close but then Volescu cried out, "Wait! My equipment and notes!" Ender pointed his phaser and fired at the two separate desk computers, causing them to explode and sparks flew about the tables and set the scattered paper and notes around them on fire as well as the lab equipment and chemicals. Volescu watched in horror as the flames grew and engulfed his working area in flames and screamed, "NO!" And he before he could try to break free from Ender's grip, Ender yelled onto his communicator, "Energize!" And they all dematerialized before the stunned soldiers woke up.

Once they rematerialized, two more security officers approached and had their phasers raised and pointed at Volescu. Ender let go of Volescu as he looked shocked and raised his hands before walking off the transporter pad with the other two security officers behind him and Ender said, "Put him in the brig." Volescu was looking at the transporter pad and then at Ender in amazement before being nudged forward and Volescu walked away with the four security officers escorting him out.

The M.D.D. approached Colony IX as Julian leaned forward in his seat with a look of puzzlement as he stared at the view screen showing the planet and asked rhetorically, "Where is she?" A crewman at a console to his far left said, "Caesar, I've scanned the surface and found no man made structures." Julian smirked and replied, "Ohh it is not down on any map; True places never are."-(Moby Dick).

Ender exited the turbo lift and entered the bridge as he called out, "Status report!" As soon as he sat in his chair he noticed Nikolai overlooking one of the consoles to his left when Petra replied, "Julian's ship has arrived and is presently scanning the surface while also orbiting the planet behind us." Ender looked back at Petra nervously and asked, "Does he know we are here?" Petra replied calmly (as she is looking down at one of the monitors on her console), "Not yet, but he can still outrun us and outgun us." Ender continued to look at her nervously and asked, "Any suggestions?" Petra replied, "There is an asteroid nebula at 39 mark 4 that would render the main weapon of Julian's ship useless." Ender looked over his shoulder towards Nikolai's direction and asked, "Nikolai, is the ship ready?" Nikolai looked back at Ender and replied, "Phasers are fully charged and torpedoes tubes are ready to fire but don't get me too many bumps." Ender said, "No promises Mr. Delphiki." Nikolai sighed in disappointment and walked hurriedly towards the turbo lift before the doors closed behind him. Joachim stated, "Sir if we go in there are targeting systems will be inoperable as well as visual and our shields will be useless." Petra spoke out, "Then the odds will be even Mr. Weiss."

The Endeavor pulled away from Colony IX and headed straight to the blue and red hazed nebula with asteroids surrounding and inside it as the M.D.D. started to appear as it turned from the corner of the planet behind the Endeavor. Inside the Endeavor, the red alert lights flashed as crews grabbed emergency supplies and repair tools as they either walked fast or ran down the passageways. At the same time, the maintenance and Iron Men gun crews quickly loaded up the bazookas and machine rifles before setting them inside the UMS coffin size hangers while others made last minute repair or mechanical touch ups before pushing the suits (that are locked in on metal slabs) up and into their individual coffin size hangers before locking in place all the while various crew members yelled various commands or reporting ready.

The Endeavor began speeding up as it headed to the nebula asteroid field when on the M.D.D.'s bridge Julian pointed to the main viewer and called out as some of the bridge crew looked surprised, "There she is! There she is." He sighed with satisfaction as he smiled and said, "Not so wounded as I left to believe, so much the better." The M.D.D. began to give chase trying to catch up with the Endeavor.

Petra is looking at one of her monitors in front of her (as it lighted her face blue) and she stated, "Penetration in two minutes." She looked back at Ender and also added, "The Little Doctor is closing." While Ender continued to look at the main viewer as he leaned forward and balled up his hands together.

On the bridge of the M.D.D. the rear of the Endeavor started to grow larger and larger when suddenly it began get smaller and Julian looked to the helm at his left in anger and asked, "Why are we slowing?" Phillip replied innocently, "Caesar if we go in there our visual will be useless as well as our targeting systems and the main weapon." Julian looked frustrated at him before slouching back in his seat and sighed depressingly.

Petra stated, "They are reducing speed." Ender said, "Vars, patch me in." Vars replied, "Aye sir. You're on captain." On the bridge of the M.D.D., Julian watched the main viewer in frustration when suddenly Ender's voice is heard on the intercom, "Hello Julian, it looks like you are too slow to reach Colony IX before we did!" Julian looked up in shock before turning back to glare at communications as she looked back at Julian in surprise and shook her head in confusion as she pressed various buttons on her console. Ender spoke, "Caesar, I'm laughing at your superior intellect." Julian glared at the main viewer and said, "Move toward him." Phillip turned to face Julian and called out, "No Caesar! You have the Little Doctor, you can do whatever..." Julian leapt up and shoved Phillip away (Only to throttle him from his seat and hit the floor) as Julian screamed, "MOVE!" And once he was behind the helm he slammed his hand on a button and the M.D.D. rapidly sped forward to catch up with the Endeavor.

Ender smirked as he watched the main viewer, as it showed the M.D.D. trying to catch up, and he said, "Doesn't take much to set him off." Petra turned from her console to face the main viewer and stated, "We're now entering the nebula." The main viewer then turned from showing the blue and red asteroid nebula, crystal clear, to static lines and jumpy imagery as the ship made a single light shake. The Endeavor flew past and amongst the asteroids that littered the nebula as it entered and disappeared in the blue and red haze.

The M.D.D. flew in as well and on the bridge the main viewer changed from crystal clear imagery to static and jumpy images as well and the helm officer, Lazarus, called out, "Visual inoperable, reducing speed!" He looked back at Julian as if to gain approval but Julian ignored him as he made a single high pitch laugh as he sat back in his seat and said, "Ender, Ender. "How can you see better of a dark night than anybody else"" (Moby Dick). The M.D.D. moved passed the surrounding asteroids forward while overhead the Endeavor passed from left to right. Julian asked, "Yamato, anything on sensors?" From the console wall on Julian's right, Yamato replied, "Sensors cannot lock, too much interference from the asteroids Caesar." Julian grunted in anger as he glared at the main viewer.

The M.D.D. passed alongside an asteroid about the size of a moon while coming around from behind it is the Endeavor. Joachim looked at both the main viewer and at his console before looking back at Ender with a hopeless look while Ender continued to stare at the main viewer and said, "Best guess Mr. Weiss, fire when ready." Joachim turned back forward and they both looked hard at the blurry screen, barely making out the tail end of the M.D.D. as Joachim pressed a button and two short phaser bursts fired from the Endeavor towards the bottom of the M.D.D. One burst just missed the bottom while another made a gash mark along the bottom of its hull making the M.D.D. shudder.

Julian was walking towards the port side consoles on the bridge when the ship was hit and he fell back and just grabbed onto the railing to break his fall. He then glared at Lazarus, raised his fist and said angrily, "Aft gauntlet, fire!" The Endeavor was already pealing away to the left when an electrical static ball flew from the M.D.D.'s aft and completely missed the Endeavor as it flew past below it.

Petra spoke with fascination, "Apparently the M.D.D. can fire from the rear." Ender smirked and replied, "Noted commander." The Endeavor flew into a thicker blue mist but with random flashes of white light. Ender and some of the bridge crew cringed and Ender said, "Look sharp." The Endeavor continued to move forward as it was now surrounded by the white flashes of light with a constant, barely audible, wind tunnel and static discharge sounds when Ender called out, "All stop!" Joachim immediately pressed a button on his console and replied, "Helm answering all stop." Outside, a dark object appeared ahead of the Endeavor while on the Endeavor's bridge they all watched the flickering image of the main viewer till suddenly they saw the shape of the M.D.D. right in front of them. Ender screamed, "EVASIVE STARBOARD!" The Endeavor immediately began making a sharp turn to starboard when the M.D.D. fired both its cannons, but solid blue beams fired forth and while the starboard beam completely missed the Endeavor the port beam hit the center of the port side neck of the Endeavor and carved a path in an up angle and almost hit the port side impulse engine. On the Endeavor, Nikolai was running down a passageway when suddenly he was throttled back to the deck as the passageway exploded into flames before him and when he looked up he looked in shock as two crewmen (that were in front of him) fell to the deck as they were consumed by the flames and screaming in agony as they rolled around/flailed in the flames. Nikolai immediately got up, smashed a glass case on the bulkhead next to him, pulled out a fire blanket and began whipping the crewmen before him in an attempt to put the fire out.

The Endeavor swung downward on a starboard angle as the M.D.D. barreled through where the ship was initially and Ender yelled, "Fire!" The Endeavor fired a single phaser beam from the top of the saucer section and struck directly at the bottom of the M.D.D. causing multiple explosions as it carved a short path. An explosion of sparks and blown out wall and deck panels flew about in the M.D.D.'s bridge as Julian was standing behind his chair and fell behind it as a sharp panel flew over him and he screamed, "FIRE!" One of the docked fighters on the M.D.D.'s port side fired a blue beam and struck to the right of the Endeavor's bridge and carved a path from there and almost hitting the starboard side impulse engine. Ender yelled, "Fire!" Then another phaser blast from the Endeavor struck directly at the fighter that fired from the M.D.D. and carved a short path that caused multiple fighters to explode and the sound of internal explosions within the M.D.D. The back port side of the M.D.D.'s bridge exploded, blowing out the door and throttled a crewman forward, screaming, as well as knocking out a bridge crewman off her seat to the right as her console exploded into sparks and small flames. Suddenly an overhead beam fell as she looked up and screamed only for her screams to be cut off when the solid metal beam landed directly on top of her, crushing her instantly.

On the Endeavor's bridge, sparks flew from the overhead lighting as two crewmen worked quickly trying to repair it and Ender pressed a button on his right arm rest and called out, "Status Mr. Delphiki!" Nikolai yelled over the background noise, "That was a close call sir! I highly advise we do not do that again!" Ender replied, "No promises chief." Ender then asked, "Commander?" Petra is looking at one of her monitors and replied, "Sporadic energy readings, starboard forward. It looks like he moved away but at the last minute he may have turned before I lost track." Ender looked at Petra's direction with a look of shock and said, "You mean he could be..." Petra snapped her head at Ender's direction and looked shocked as well before Ender turned and faced Joachim's direction and yelled, "HARD TO STARBOARD!"

Suddenly the M.D.D. appeared in front of the Endeavor as the Endeavor immediately spiraled down to port at the last moment before the M.D.D. fired both its cannons and the two blue beams flew right over the Endeavor and both missed it. The M.D.D. past where the Endeavor was and turned to port and down to cut off the Endeavor's escape. On the Endeavor's main viewer the crew watched in shock, as they held onto their seats (as Ender cringed while holding onto his), through the static screen the M.D.D. started to turn about and Joachim yelled, "Sir he is going to cut right in front of us!" Ender slammed his fist on his right arm rest as he hit a button and the transparent screens came down/up in front of him and Ender jumped up and with one hand grabbed hold to one of the handlebars overhead while with his right hand hit the lighted button that said, "UMS Deployment".

On the M.D.D.'s bridge, they saw the Endeavor spiraling down to port and Julian yelled, "Fire!" But as the cannons fired he witnessed both beams missing and he slammed his fist on his left arm rest and screamed, "DAMNIT!" He looked at Lazarus's direction and yelled, "Down 45 degrees to port! Cut him off and fire again!" Lazarus replied, "Yes sir!" The ship shifted to the left as Julian and the rest of the bridge crew held on as some of the wreckage creaked or rolled on the deck with only the beam that crushed one of the crewmen earlier remained firmly in place as her left hand/arm dangled and Julian cringed in anger and said, "I'll chase him 'round the moons of Nibia and 'round the Antares Maelstrom and 'round perditions flames before I give him up!" (Moby Dick) Some of the bridge crew looked at him nervously but he ignored him as the Endeavor began to appear right in front of them only as it did the bridge crew watched in shock as they saw the Iron Men suits flying out of the sides of the main body of the Endeavor and flew right at them all the while Julian cringed in anger and stared directly at the Endeavor's bridge through the static as if ignoring the Iron Men suits flying right towards him.

On the Endeavor's bridge, Ender slammed the flat palm of his right hand on the diagram of the M.D.D. right before him and yelled, "Fire!" At that moment the Iron Men suits (surrounding the M.D.D.) pulled out their assault rifles and bazookas and fired at the M.D.D. relentlessly at where the fighters were stored and caused multiple explosions as the fighters exploded while docked onto the sides of the M.D.D. Joachim called out, "Firing torpedoes!" And the Endeavor fired four torpedoes and flew straight at the M.D.D. and struck below to the left and right of the main bridge as well as the top, blowing apart the main cannons.

The wall consoles behind Julian's command chair exploded, as the torpedoes struck, sending glass and metal fragments flying everywhere as the two crewmen standing right before them were incinerated in the blast as a console on Julian's left and right exploded as well killing two more crewmen instantly. Julian crouched down in his seat as he held on as the bridge was being blown apart while the bridge crew around him screamed and he watched Lazarus as he was immediately impaled in the back by a large metal chard and slumped over his console lifelessly. Julian screamed, "NOOO!" And he immediately left his seat and charged at Lazarus's console and shoved his body away only to for his body to fly from his seat and hit the railing between the console and the port side wall consoles and slumped onto the floor as Julian began furious pressing the firing controls as he yelled insanely, "NO, NO YOU CAN'T GET AWAY! FROM HELL'S HEART I STAB AT THEE; FOR HATE'S SAKE I SPIT MY LAST BREATH AT THEE!" (Moby Dick) Suddenly the console exploded sparks as Julian made a short painful scream before being thrown back and smashed the back of his command chair (breaking the chair off its hinges and fell apart onto the deck) and crumpled onto the floor and laid motionless, revealing a burnt right hand and his hair changed to grey and white while throughout the rest of the bridge the lights flickered and everything is dead quiet with the exception of issuing sparks and the dull sound of an alarm.

Ender pressed a button under the UMS suit logo that said, "Disengage" and Ender called out, "Cease firing!" Joachim replied, "All UMS's, phaser and torpedo crews standing down." They all watched on the main viewer as the trashed M.D.D. drifted before the Endeavor with random small explosions spewing forth and electrical sparks. Petra called out, "Captain, I detect an energy build up from the weapons systems within the M.D.D!" Ender looked at her alarm as Petra continued, "Due to the extensive damage the main weapon is building up to an overload!" Ender looked at Vars and yelled, "Ms. Vars, hail the M.D.D. Tell them to prepare for immediate beam out!" Vars replied, "Aye sir." Suddenly Petra looked up from one of her monitors and looked straight at Ender with a look of terror and yelled, "Sir, Kha..." Four torpedoes struck behind the Endeavor's bridge on top of the saucer section causing multiple explosions while on the bridge the ship violently shook and the lights flickered as Ender stumbled while holding onto the overhead handlebars and the data and power on the transparent panels before him went completely blank and looked like just plain glass before him as the alarm sounded. Ender yelled, "Report!" Joachim replied, "Weapons are offline and the UMS's are returning to the ship on automation!" Ender pressed on the powered off glass panels and desperately pressed a button on his arm rest but nothing happened and he yelled, "Why aren't..." Petra called out, "Sir, Khan has arrived!" Ender and the rest of the crew looked shocked.

The Vengeance II appeared from the blue and red mist behind and over the Endeavor and turned and stopped over the wrecked M.D.D. as it faced the Endeavor. Ender and the rest of the bridge crew were transfixed on the main viewer as the Vengeance II is facing directly at them over the M.D.D. when Khan's voice came over the intercom, "You are lucky Mr. Wiggin, next time you won't be." Ender yelled, "KHAN!" Then before the crews very eyes the Vengeance II turned about and sped away, disappearing into the blue and red mist with asteroids floating about. There is a beeping sound from Petra's station that is growing rapidly and Petra called out, "Sir she's going to blow!" Ender yelled, "Joachim get us out of here!" Joachim looked nervous and replied, "Sir if we go to Trans-warp we will lose Trans-warp and main power!" Ender sat in his seat and yelled back, "I DON'T CARE! NO POWER IS BETTER THAN BEING DEAD! GET US OUT NOW!" Joachim immediately pressed various buttons and the ship banked hard to the right when outside the Endeavor made a sharp starboard turn and once it turned away from the M.D.D. it immediately went to Trans-warp and large electrical bolts danced around the wrecked M.D.D. before it suddenly exploded. The explosion created a large yellow ball of light and blew away the blue and red mist and engulfing the asteroids that surrounded or were within the nebula before the ball of yellow light imploded on itself and vanished, leaving behind empty space.

On the Endeavor's bridge everyone (with the exception of Ender as he held onto the overhead handlebars) grabbed hold either to their seats or on the consoles as the Endeavor immediately went to Trans-warp. Just a few moments after the ship went to Trans-warp it suddenly decelerated and the main overhead lights went out and changed from white to red and yellow as everyone was throttled forward in their seats or some lost their grip on the consoles and fell/tumbled on the floor as Ender's feet slid forward but held onto the overhead handlebars tightly. There is a whining sound of deceleration and Ender yelled, "Mr. Weiss what's going on?" Joachim yelled over the alarm and whining noise, "Sir we are losing Trans-warp power!" The whining noise then began to slow down and stopped as the ship came to a halt and Petra yelled out, "We are clear!" Ender pressed a button on his arm rest and the powered down transparent panels before him retracted back up/down as he sat in his chair and stated, "I need more than that commander!" Petra is looking at her monitors and her console as she pressed various buttons and said, "Sir we lost both Trans-warp and main power." Ender said excitedly, "Tell Mr. Delphiki we need both of them back right away!" Petra replied, "Aye sir." Ender turned to Joachim and said, "Mr. Weiss..." Joachim cut him off, "Scanners are inoperable sir!" He and the rest of the crew worked feverishly at their stations as looked up at the main viewer and tried to calm himself even as he said, "Great, we are sitting ducks." While the Endeavor drifted dead in space.

The doors slid open and Khan entered the sickbay when suddenly there was a short cry of anger as a glass cup flew and smashed against the wall to his left. Khan spoke aloud, "I guess Julian Caesar is awake after all." In one of the bio beds before him Julian was lying back trying desperately to break the grip of two male, physically strong nurses holding him down as he thrashed his hands (his right hand wearing a black glove) about and cried out in anger, "ENDER! I MUST KILL ENDER!" Khan approached and stood next to Julian and saw his grey and white hair but ignored it and Khan replied calmly, "Another time, if you ever get one. You have failed Lord Serenity's wishes and instead of testing the weapon, like you were supposed to, you instead used it for your own personal vendetta." Julian glared at him furiously as his left eye is bloodshot and screamed, "YOU IDIOT! HE KILLED MY ENTIRE CREW! MY FAMILY! AND MY SHIP!" In an instant Khan grabbed Julian's throat and squeezed forcing Julian to grab and tried to pull his hand away as he began choking but to no avail as Khan glared back at him and spoke calmly, but menacingly, "Talk not to me of blasphemy. I'd strike the sun if it insulted me." (Moby Dick) And Khan let go making Julian gasp for air and Khan looked down on him and said, "You will remain here till we returned to The Sanctuary, and you will explain yourself to Serenity and Thanos." He then turned and walked away, ignoring Julian as he glared at him.

Ender stated, "Captain's log star date 2351.1, we have been adrift for more than an hour and main power is back online. Unfortunately Trans-warp Drive is still under repairs but I have been reassured by Mr. Delphiki it would be fixed within half an hour. I have received the casualty reports from Dr. Talbot and we have 13 dead and 21 wounded during our confrontation with Julian Caesar (as he calls himself). Lt. Vars has been trying to contact Starfleet on our situation and what has transpired since we left Federation space but so far no success. Once the Trans-warp drive is back online we are heading straight to Starbase 11 where we will transfer Dr. Volescu to Federation custody and await to stand trail while we transfer off the excess medical personnel." Ender is lying back in his bed, awake, when all of a sudden the doors to his quarters opened and Nikolai came rushing in and went straight to Ender's computer and turned it on before he exclaimed, "Ender you have to see this!" Ender (still in his uniform) rolled out of bed both angry and puzzled and he asked, "Nikolai what the hell are you..." Nikolai cut him off, "I was able to find out that Khan and Julian are not working alone! They are being aided by Lord Serenity and Thanos!" Ender came up behind Nikolai and looked at the monitor and saw a detailed file of the M.D.D., the rebuilt of the Vengeance, the Genesis Device, the USS Reliant, Lord Serenity and Thanos as Nikolai scrolled down and Ender looked a little startled and said, "How did you get this?" Nikolai smirked and replied, "Before this mess started I setup my computer terminal to be able to hack into the M.D.D.'s computer core and copy whatever files it can get its hands on. Once we started fighting my terminal began its hack and with the confusion of the battle and damages you inflicted on the M.D.D. it made the hack easier than expected." Ender looked at Nikolai fascinated and said, "Nikolai, you most certainly do not disappoint." Nikolai replied, "You can thank my brother, Bean." He looked solemn as he said his brother's name and Ender patted him on the back as he sympathized, "He is a good friend. By the way, how did you two know each other and how was he able to keep you in the dark from me?" Nikolai replied, "He did a little digging about his past while he did his duty at Battle School and when he found out about me we made a promise to keep our friendship a secret, once he told me about our relationship and past. It's not something you would want your teachers or Graff to find out." Ender made a short, stifled laugh and said, "True. In the meantime, finish repairing the Trans-warp engines before the Interstellar Fleet finds us. I don't plan on handing Dr. Volescu back over to them." Nikolai stood up at attention and replied, "Yes sir." And he left Ender's quarters while Ender sat before his terminal and scrolled down to see a file highlighted "Julian Caesar" And he sighed and said to himself, "Julian, you have gone mad."

The doors slid open and Khan entered the Vengeance II's sickbay and to his surprise (while keeping a neutral expression) he saw Julian inside a sealed, glass stasis bed with health monitors and indicators over the head of the tube and two male nurses in hazmat white coveralls and masks stood over him. Khan approached and asked, "What's his status?" One of the nurses turned to face him and replied, "Sir, Julian's Anton's Key is, turned on." Khan tried to keep from showing his frustration and said, "Which means he will continue to grow till he reaches the size of a giant and his heart will give out." The nurse replied, "Yes sir." Khan asked, "How long does he have?" The nurse replied, "It's hard to say, nine, ten years tops." Khan grunted in frustration and the nurse said, "We are keeping him in cry-o-stasis to keep him from growing." Khan said, "Good. Once we reach The Sanctuary wake him up so he can explain his failure to Lord Serenity and Thanos." The nurse replied, "Yes sir." And as the nurse resumed his duties Khan looked down at Julian and nodded his head with a look of disappointment before turning around and leaving sickbay.

The turbo lift doors opened on the bridge and Ender stepped out and assumed his command chair before pressing a button on his right armrest and asked, "Mr. Delphiki, is the Trans-warp drive repaired?" Nikolai replied, "Yes sir, but keep it under Trans-warp 3 till we are sure it is fully stable." Ender said, "Will do chief." He pressed the same button before turning to Petra and asked, "Commander, are all stations ready?" Petra replied, "All stations report ready sir." Ender said, "Excellent." He turned forward and pressed a button on his arm rest and stated, "All stations, prepare for Trans-warp drive." He and the rest of the bridge crew closed their arm rests and Joachim said, "Trans-warp at your command sir." Ender said, "Ahead Trans-warp 3." The Endeavor went to Trans-warp leaving a streak of blue and red in its wake.

Khan stated, "Sir we failed to get Dr. Volescu, but we know who has him. I also want to report Julian Caesar has destroyed eleven planets, including the home world of the Starways of Congress, with the cost of the destruction of the Little Doctor by the USS Endeavor." Lord Serenity stood before Thanos (as he sat in his throne) as they looked at the disappointed face of Khan Noonien Singh in the projection before them. Serenity looked very frustrated as well as Thanos and Serenity replied, "When you arrive bring Julian over to us to answer for his failure to follow my orders." Khan said, "Yes Serenity, but he has also sustained injuries during the battle." Thanos bellowed, "Explain." Khan replied, "His right hand is severely burned that he has to wear a glove to maintain the nervous system in his hand and his hair has changed from black to grey and white." Serenity asked, "Anything else?" Khan said, "Yes. Julian's Anton's Key is now active." Serenity throat growled in frustration as Thanos continued looking at Khan with an expressionless face and Serenity replied, "That will be all." And Khan's image vanished before them. Thanos bellowed, "That boy is an incompetent fool! He has destroyed the main leverage you have against both Zhargosia and the Federation! He will bring us all to ruin!" Serenity kneeled before Thanos and replied, "Thanos, Dr. Volescu can still be retrieved and we still have the Genesis Device to further pursue our cause." Thanos said, "How do you plan to get Dr. Volescu when he will be deep in Federation territory?" Serenity replied, "I don't have to do anything great Thanos. I'll just let the Zhargosians do it for us." Thanos asked, "How?" And Serenity looked up at Thanos and grinned.


End file.
